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Monday, April 2, 2012

Front Door Makeover: Phase 1

Our condo's front door was a sorely neglected surface that was pretty beat up during the renovation process and then never addressed. But an email from our board saying that all doors were going to get a paint job sparked my interested in doing a mini makeover.

The tough part about living in a condo building is that it can be really tough to personalize your space without getting the neighbor's panties in a twist. Anything too loud or festive does not go over well in my building, so I think anything fun is out of the question.

So this begins Phase 1 of my front door makeover: Green it Up

I would like to formally introduce my new girl, Fern. Actually, she is formally known as Fern #2 because we had a little plant thief that was trolling through about a year ago and stole Fern #1 (cue single tear).

She was a great find out Costco this weekend. A three gallon Boxwood for only $17! There were tons to choose from, but I liked her shape and size the best. Costco, you always amaze me...an entire lunch from your free samples PLUS a deal on this beauty.

Then we headed to Home Depot where I choose a somewhat simple 16" plastic pot with a little detail and not too cheep looking. I was looking for a textured one that I could easily paint since I knew I wanted it to be a glossy black finish. I made sure it was for indoor use and there was no hole on the bottom. I'm guessing my building would not love a leaky plant on the carpet. This one was $16.

After bringing it home and putting it outside the door it was looking a little shrimpy. So after hunting around for a little stand, I realized that in my pile of Costco goodies I had a perfect sized box from a unnecessarily large stash of whole wheat pasta. I made sure it could hold the weight of the pot + my girl Fern = success!

I broke out the can of black high gloss paint and gave both the box and the pot two coats.

Now it is a better height, and I didn't have to go buy a $50 plant stand.

I am not married to her location, but its definitely added a little life to our front door.

So now that Phase 1 is complete I will have to wait for Phase 2: Paint.

Unfortunately, the color and timeliness of this next phase is not up to me. The building has chosen a color and they won't let the owners paint it themselves. So alas, I don't know when this next step will get completed, but I will be pleased when it does!

This is a simple project that you can do even as a renter- the best part is you can take the plant with you when you leave!